VMWare Acquires SpringSource

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Today VMWare has announced the acquisition of SpringSource, a provider of Web application development and management services. The deal closed at a $420 million valuation, with $362 million in cash and equity plus an assumption of approximately $58 million in unvested stocks and options.

SpringSource is a notable proponent of “lean software,” a concept that is gaining traction in the enterprise space as a means of accelerating the delivery of business applications in the cloud. With the acquisition, VMWare and SpringSource will partner with goals of delivering a platform that allows clients to “more efficiently build, run and manage applications in both internal and external cloud architectures.”

“VMware has led the modernization of datacenter infrastructures through innovative virtualization and cloud architectures, providing customers with cost savings, agility and choice,” said Rod Johnson, chief executive officer, SpringSource. “The SpringSource team and community are committed to revolutionizing the way companies build, run and manage applications. By combining forces, I’m confident that we’ll be able to deliver a set of truly remarkable solutions that dramatically simplify enterprise IT.”

The move comes shortly after a small exodus of talent from Google to VMWare. It is also interesting to note that Benchmark Capital is SpringSource’s largest investor, with Peter Fenton sitting on the company’s board of directors. Benchmark is also an investor in FriendFeed, so the firm is clearly enjoying a nice start to the week.